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ROCHESTER, N.Y. — At ESL Ballpark, home of the Washington Nationals' Triple-A affiliate, there's an old "Pitch Speed" indicator beyond the left field bullpen. It has room for two digits.
Multiple times on Friday night, Luis Perales made it read '00'.
A lot of pitchers have come through the stadium formerly known as Frontier Field. Very, very rarely have they put those two digits up there by throwing 100 miles per hour.
Perales is a rare talent, acquired in a trade in the offseason from the Boston Red Sox.
MLB Pipeline ranks him the No. 6 prospect in the Nats' system, and an in-person look at Perales on Friday night revealed why.
That fastball is absurd, popping out of his relatively small, lithe frame and exploding past hitters.
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Then Perales breaks out a pitch in the 93-94 MPH range, a cutting, slider type offering. Hitters from the Blue Jays' affiliate from Buffalo had a tough time with that, too.
Perales also was throwing a curveball in the mid-80s.
It wasn't all perfect -- a three-run homer was a blemish on Perales' otherwise impressive night.
But it's the kind of situation where you aren't necessarily watching for Perales to be perfect. He has a Tommy John surgery in his recent past. He's not going to be fully polished.
You're looking for his peak to be noticeable, and it definitely was.
Even when not hitting 100, he was at 98 or 99. Those nasty offspeed pitches were wicked, too.
Perales won't be rushed, given his injury history and the Nationals' need to look to the big picture, not a quick fix.
But that arm is too good to not one day impact the big leagues, whether as a starter (his current role) or a back-end bullpen stalwart.
Nationals fans will want to keep an eye on what Perales does from here on out. He's got the kind of impact talent that can totally transform a pitching staff if he ends up anywhere near his ceiling.
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